


Beggar's Canyon and Choosers

by AceQueenKing



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Crash Landing, First Meetings, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-04-30 13:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14498118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/pseuds/AceQueenKing
Summary: "You seem to have had some trouble out there," the boy said, holding a spanner like it would help save the smoldering remains of his ship. Lando's head hurt enough from the crash that he wasn't entirely sure the kid was anything more than a mirage, but he was so thankful to see him that it almost didn't matter.





	Beggar's Canyon and Choosers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ciliegio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciliegio/gifts).



"You seem to have had some trouble out there," the boy said, holding a spanner like it would help save the smoldering remains of his ship. Lando's head hurt enough from the crash that he wasn't entirely sure the kid was anything more than a mirage, but he was so thankful to see him that it almost didn't matter.

The blond boy jumped down, skittering down the sand dune that Lando had oh-so-nimbly brushed against before slamming deep into a crater of sand. All things considered, it was a good landing, he thought, for a ship without any engines, anyway.

He watched his would-be savior as he carefully climbed down the sand, sure-footed as a Gill-Goat on the wet peaks of Socorro's finest cliffs.

He was a farmboy, Lando saw, this accidental savior. Lando evaluated him quickly: he was slim and dressed practically, so probably not rich; tanned, which was a given in the Tatooine sun, and glaring at him with a curiosity that was more than a little suicidal. There was nothing in the sand pits of this planet but sand for miles and miles, which meant the kid had to have followed him via macrobinoculars or scanners. Which meant, of course, that the boy was either curious or bored as hell. Or both.

Either way, he could work with it. Looked like a curious boy, spanner in hand, and no doubt some form of landspeeder somewhere, because he'd never known a farmer boy who took a chance with the elements. Easy enough.

"I sure did," he said, flashing his patented Calrissian smile. He spread his cape, which was so impractical he knew this far into the outer rim, he had to look nothing less than royal. "I'm Lando." He held out his hand and the boy, warily, took a step closer to him.

There was a hint of a smile on his face, but something was holding the boy back - Lando couldn't quite perceive what, yet. Was the kid actually shy? He supposed there couldn't be that many people on this rock. "Don't worry," he cooed. "I won't bite."

That brought a full smile to the boy's face, though he still refused to make eye contact, focusing more on Lando's engines than his face. (Which was a pity: Lando's face was, by his own estimation, much prettier, if a little banged up, at the moment.)

"'M Luke," he said, his cheeks almost a light pink as he hesitantly offered his hand. "Luke Skywalker. And I - I don't bite either."

"Well, good to know." Lando gripped the boy's now outstretched hand; he had a good grip, this Skywalker, with only slight calluses on his fingers. "You from these parts?"

"Yeah." Luke nodded. "You're not, though. That's obvious."

"No. From Soccoro originally, though I live in Bespin right now. Got my head in the clouds, you know." He wondered how curious the kid was - he hadn't asked what Lando was doing on this desert ruin, for instance.

"Well, not anymore," Luke said, staring at the engine. He took a few more steps toward it. "Wow. You really _roached_ this thing."

"Damn engine fell out while I was trying to make my way from my last business meeting," Lando said, trying to avoid mentioning that the meeting was over a tibanna trade with the Hutts. Nothing personal, of course, but he knew well enough that people out here weren't fond of the criminal enterprises that kept their planets worth going to.

"Can't do much for it now," Luke said; no shit, Lando thought, considering the wing was still smoldering. "We gotta wait for the fire to die down before we can even think of fixing this one."

" _We_?" Lando said, amused. The kid really was a bit of a savior if he thought he could save THAT engine.

"Yeah, course. We look out for one another out here." Luke gave him a smile, and Lando had to admit, he was a charming boy. No, not quite a boy; now that he was up close, he could see Luke was young, but not a teenager, not anymore. At least nineteen, he thought; maybe older. Naive, though.

But that could be a good thing.

"Mighty kind," he said in a drawl, then dabbed at his still aching head. "You know a place where I could seek shelter for a while?"

"Of course," Luke grinned and turned toward him. "You'll stay with us and tell me all about your adventures out there." Luke grabbed his arm and began to lead him back up the hill. "I saw you had a hyperspeed engine on there. Are you a spice runner? You can tell me. My dad was one, you know."

"I did not know," Lando said, amused, then had the smile promptly wiped off his face as he stumbled into the sand. He would have fallen straight on his face if the kid hadn't held him up.

"Be careful," Luke said, without a bone of complaint in his body. Han would have never let him forget it if he'd been here.

He had to admit, he preferred Luke.

His vision swam as they climbed; it was further up than it had looked, and he had to admit, the further they got, the more the kid was carrying him, rather than the reverse.

"How much longer are we going to - " He asked, but his vision blurred. Shit. Maybe he'd hit his head harder than he'd thought?

"Are you okay?" Luke sounded concerned, but his voice was far away. When Lando fell forward again, he didn't feel Luke's arms catch him.

In fact, he didn't feel anything at all.

\- - -

He woke up to the sound of shouting.

Being Lando, this was not uncommon, but he didn't recognize the area he'd woken up in: a room, for sure, but not well lit - in fact, there was no sunlight at all. He shifted upward and realized why: the high window, full of sand - had to be underground. He slid out of the thin sheet - _definitively_ not his, and rubbed his pounding head.

"Uncle Owen!" Luke's voice was pleading, and Lando raised his eyes. "What's the big deal? He needed help. Aunt Beru is always saying we should help others - "

"You don't know a thing about him, boy!" Uncle Owen sounded strict, with a voice that spoke to years of baking in a hot sun and not much else. "What if he's from the Empire? Some Imperial spy just stiting in Beggar's Canyon, waiting for people like us to come around and give them cover?"

"No Imperial spy is going to ask to spend time on a moisture farm, Uncle Owen."

Lando Calrissian almost laughed at the thought of him being Imperial _anything_. Nope, that was one mess he would never touch.

He walked forward, though his vision swam at every step. The voices seemed not to notice his footsteps; not a surprise, given how loud they were.

"You're so careless, Luke." Luke's uncle's voice was pissed; an oddity, given a brother running drugs through the outer rim. "You keep this up, that's going to get you killed."

Or perhaps that was why. Maybe Luke's father  _hadn't_ run that long. 

"Owen, he was just trying to help - " A woman's voice, exasperated. Sounded like this trouble had been brewing for a while. Well, he owed Luke, and besides, he had to get the Skywalkers' on his side if he was ever going to get off this rock.

"Hi folks," he said, throwing himself into showing nothing but his best, twenty-four karat grin. "Pardon me for causing trouble."

The older man stared at him with a stony silence, while Luke looked disturbed to see him up. "Lando! You shouldn't be up and walking yet! We were just going to fetch a doctor, but Uncle Owen - "

"Oh, don't worry about that," Lando said, waving his arm. The last thing he wanted was to be hacked to pieces by some backwoods surgeon; he'd wait 'til he was safe and home, then Lobot could look him over.

Though - it was almost worth the potential quack if he got to spend more time with Luke. The boy was damn beautiful.

"I think I will worry, thanks very much," Luke said with a frown. He reached for Lando's hand with an easy grace and led Lando back to his room without another word, all but pushing him on the bed.

Lando raised an eyebrow and Luke blushed. "Sorry. I'm a little irritated. Uncle Owen is just so-so - ugh!" Luke threw his arms up in the air. "He just wants to hold me back!"

"Just lookin' out for you, I'm sure," Lando said, not wanting to get into a spat between uncle and nephew. Yeah, Luke's spice-trading daddy _hadn't_ come back after he'd run to the stars.

Which, well, fair enough. Lando couldn't say he'd come home either, if he was from here.

"Yeah, well, he could do so in a less than obnoxious way." Luke sighed, then place a hand on his forehead. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't even ask!"

"'M okay," He said, though his head still hurt like hell. "Just shook up from the crash, I guess."

Luke frowned and stroked his head and something inside of Lando - well, it didn't fall, because he was far too smooth for that, but it definitively wiggled. Shit, was he really going for Luke?

"Can I do anything for you?" Luke said, rubbing his fingers through Lando's hair, massaging his scalp in a way that made Lando feel all but putty in the boy's hand. He was pretty sure that he _was_ falling for the kid, a bit.

"Nah, just keep me company," he said, with a wide smile on his face. "Tell me about yourself. Seems like we're friends now, but I don't know much about you."

"Not much to tell," Luke said, making a face. "My mom died a long time ago, dad too - they were spice runners. Wound up with Uncle Owen, who just wants me to stay here on the farm forever. Ugh."

"And what is it Luke Skywalker wants to do?" He asked; if the kid wanted to go see the stars, well - there were ways to arrange that. Han had been carrying Chewie around long enough, maybe it was time he got a side-kick too. And Luke was a lot better looking than Chewie...

"I want to go to the academy," Luke said, softly. "Well, I want to fly. Somewhere. Anywhere. I'm nineteen; I want to get off this rock."

Nineteen, huh. Nailed it. Lando laughed, feeling it was a bit crazy, but: what the hell. He'd taken chances on less. "Well you know, I'm not the best pilot."

"I know, I saw your ship." Luke snorted, and Lando rolled his eyes and lightly hit the boy's arm.

"Hey, hey, that's unfair. I'm trying to offer you a job, boy."

"What?" Luke stared, looking almost comically dumb. Lando cupped his cheek.

"You're good luck, kid. Figure I could keep you around for a while."

"I don't - I don't even know what you - "

"I deal in Tibenna." Lando waved a hand. "Mostly. It's all on the up and up."

"I just - " Luke scrunched his face, disbelieving, and somehow still looked cute. "You've never even seen me fly!"

"I trust you though," Lando said, then winced as another wave of pain hit his face. Shit. He really did need to get to Lobot, and soon. Heh, Lobot, Luke, L3-3T - another sign Luke belonged with him up in the clouds. "Besides, you know what they say about beggars and choosers."

"Thank you, thank you!" Luke kissed his hand, then paused, an undercurrent suddenly coming to the surface between them. "I'm sorry, was that too - "

"No," Lando grunted. "Not at all."

"Alright," Luke said, and the smile on his face was full now, as hopeful as Lando had ever seen in the few minutes that he'd known Luke. Running off the kid was - well, it was crazy, but didn't feel like the worst thing he'd ever done. "Tomorrow, we'll - we'll go, alright?"

"Sounds good to me," he said, then yawned. He was getting tired again, much to his consternation. Damn crashes. Last time he'd let a Hutt engineer look at his engine.

"I'll just - I'll talk to Uncle Owen. He'll understand. He has to."

 _He won't,_ Lando thought, but he shrugged. The kid would get over it.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with a little rebellion, was there?

For now, Lando closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing himself to feel better. Tomorrow, he'd be back up in the stars, with the kid tucked under his arm.


End file.
